Women’s Basketball World Cup: Germany Coach Lange Criticizes Crowded Schedule

Germany coach Olaf Lange has criticized the crowded schedule at the home Women’s Basketball World Cup, warning that the tournament’s demanding format could undermine the quality of the competition.

“For my taste, it is scheduled too tightly because the product we want to present is at risk,” Lange said before Germany’s final group match against Mali. He said injuries caused by the workload would not be in the sport’s interest.

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For my taste, it is scheduled too tightly because the product we want to present is at risk.

The Mali game marked Germany’s third match in four days. If the German Basketball Federation team reached the play-ins as a group runner-up or third-place finisher, it would play again on Tuesday. “That would be four games in five days, which is really tough,” Lange said. He also works as an assistant coach for Toronto Tempo in the WNBA, where he said such a schedule is not used.

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That would be four games in five days, which is really tough.

The tournament’s 36 games are being played in 10 days after the WNBA paused its season for only a short period. Lange called on FIBA to find a solution.

Germany entered the Mali game after losing to Spain and beating Japan. A win would guarantee at least a place in the play-ins, where Germany would face Hungary or South Korea for a quarterfinal berth. A loss could still be enough if Spain beat Japan, because Germany would advance in third place through its head-to-head record against Japan. If Germany beat Mali and Japan defeated Spain, Germany would go directly to the quarterfinals and have two days off beforehand.

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The Fiba should find a solution.